A European survey on biobanks: trends and issues.

Biobanks have recently gained great significance for research and personalised medicine, being recognised as a crucial infrastructure. At the same time, the widely varied practices in biobanking may also pose a barrier to cross-border research and collaboration by limiting access to samples and data. Nevertheless, the extent of the actual activities and the impact of the level of networking and harmonisation have not been fully assessed. To address these issues and to obtain missing knowledge on the extent of biobanking in Europe, the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with the European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO), conducted a survey among European biobanks. In total, 126 biobanks from 23 countries responded to the survey. Most of them are small or medium-sized public collections set up either for population-based or disease-specific research purposes. The survey indicated a limited networking among the infrastructures. The large majority of them are stand-alone collections and only about half indicated to have a policy for cross-border sharing of samples. Yet, scientific collaborations based on the use of each biobank appear to be prominent. Significant variability was found in terms of consent requirements and related procedures as well as for privacy and data protection issues among the biobanks surveyed. To help promote networking of biobanks and thus maximise public health benefits, at least some degree of harmonisation should be achieved.

No effects of a synonymous variant within the CD59 gene on its protein product in duodenal biopsies of coeliac individuals.

A novel rare variant within the CD59 gene was linked with coeliac disease in a family with high incidence of disease. Functional analyses of this variant were performed using complementary DNA analysis and protein analysis in paraffin-embedded duodenal biopsies from affected individuals and controls. No effects on pre-mRNA or size of linear protein were observed, although these results do not exclude the possible effects of this variant on co-translational protein folding.

Variants within protectin (CD59) and CD44 genes linked to an inherited haplotype in a family with coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by inflammation, villous atrophy and hyperplasia of the small intestinal mucosa that affects genetically susceptible individuals. A genome-wide scan was performed in 17 family members with high incidence of CD. Highest nonparametric linkage (NPL) and logarithm of odds (LOD) scores were of 6.21 (P = 0.0107) and 2.57, respectively, to a region on chromosome 11p13-12. Following fine mapping, NPL and LOD scores did not change, but the linkage interval on chromosome 11 was narrowed to a region that is approximately 50.94 cM from pTer. Two inherited haplotypes on chromosomes 11p13-12 and 9q21 were observed in all affected members but not in the majority of clinically normal individuals. Sequencing of genes at region 11p13-12 showed a number of sequence variants, two of which were linked with the inherited haplotype. One of these variants in the CD59 gene was found at a very low frequency in the population and could possibly affect pre-messenger RNA splicing. This study is of particular importance for the identification of novel genes that might be responsible for CD other than human leukocyte antigen.

Comparative in vivo expression of beta(+)-thalassemia alleles.

Double heterozygotes who inherit one abnormal though stable beta-globin variant in association with a molecularly identified beta(+)-thalassaemia allele provide unique opportunities to quantify the in vivo expression of particular beta(+)-thalassemia alleles. The globin products of the two alleles can be separated, quantified and the output of the beta(+)-thalassaemia allele expressed as the MCH-beta(A) in pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC = 0.5 MCH x Hb A%. In this communication we provide new quantitative data on the expression of five mutations as follows: the beta(+)-87 (C-->G) = 3.8 pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC (n = 1); the beta(+) IVS-I-1 (G-->A) = 0.2 pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC (n = 1); the beta(+) IVS-I-6 (T-->C) = 2.9 pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC (n = 7); the beta(+) IVS-I-110 (G-->A) = 1.1 pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC (n = 13), and the beta(+) IVS-II-745 (C-->G) = 1.74 pg beta(A)-globin/beta(+)-thalassemia allele/RBC (n = 2). The values obtained are compared with those of other beta(+)-thalassemia alleles from the literature. It can be seen that the MCH-beta(A) value may be a correct index of thalassemia severity useful for the correlation of genotype with phenotype, and for understanding the effects of mutations in beta-globin genes on pathophysiologically meaningful beta-globin gene expression.

The beta + IVS, I-NT no. 6 (T --> C) thalassaemia in heterozygotes with an associated Hb Valletta or Hb S heterozygosity in homozygotes from Malta.

In vitro DNA amplification and dot blot analysis with synthetic allele specific oligonucleotides (ASO) identified the beta + IVS, I-6 (T --> C) thalassaemia in 78% of 32 chromosomes from 16 beta-thalassaemia homozygotes in Malta. The preponderance of a single thalassaemia mutation in one population is unusual. The beta + IVS, I-6C thalassaemia mutation was also found in three carriers who had an associated beta globin heterozygosity, i.e. Hb Valletta (or alpha 2 beta 2 87PRO) or Hb S (or alpha 2 beta 2 6VAL). The proportion of Hb A in these cases (av. = 29.7%) provided objective documentation of the relatively mild effect of this mutation on in vivo globin gene expression. However, the expression of homozygous disease was more severe in developing children compared to adults. The beta + IVS, I-6C mutation complicates population testing because heterozygotes can have Hb A2 levels below those classically associated with beta thalassaemia.